The Flame
by I'll Meet You in Pink Paradise
Summary: Flames rule the world in the darkness that normal people can't comprehend. When Iemitsu Sawada, a flame wielder, falls in love with what he expected to be a normal woman, the strings of fate fall nicely together forming a fabricated paradise. All comes to light, however, when Nana, the one he loves, gives birth to Dame-Tsuna - the savior of the new world. (warnings inside)


**Title:** _The Flame_

**Chapter 01:** _Birth_

**Warning:** _Doesn't follow through cannon, AU, descriptive violence, psychological shit, character death, slow beginning, long chapters, slow updates, maybe grammatical errors?_

**Full Summary:** _Flames rule the world in the darkness that normal people can't comprehend. When Iemitsu Sawada, a flame wielder, falls in love with what he expected to be a normal woman, the strings of fate fall nicely together forming a fabricated paradise. All comes to light, however, when Nana, the one he loves, gives birth to Dame-Tsuna - the savior of the new world._

* * *

There's a vast difference from being born into the darkness and being brought into the darkness. When a child first opens his eyes he witnesses the world as his own - he is alive and that is all he knows. As the child becomes older so does his perspective on the world; he doesn't just know himself, he becomes aware of all what is around him. He expands and inputs his own worth into the world and then reminisces on his chosen actions, and in a few decades, he dies. It's a normal plot for life, the bare basics. When concerning about the light and dark, however, it is more than just basics and general analysis on life and worth; when concerning about the darkness, it is all about who gets there first.

When a child is born in the darkness, he is more adapt to the lack of light thus strengthening the chance of survival. When a child is brought into the darkness, whether by force or will, he will be more susceptible to the evil and wickedness of the dark, thereafter receiving a lower chance of survival and, if by miracle he survives through decades, he becomes a feared monster because he is able to adapt too quickly.

There's a vast difference from being born into the darkness and being brought into the darkness because it matters who gets there first. The people born into the dark, the mafia, know this all too well. From birth the mafia kids are shown horror and death; nothing stays pure. They grow up witnessing those that are not mafia-breed, those that are trying to sneak themselves in or those that are pushed in their arena so they form similar ideas: it is all about getting there first.

Iemitsu Sawada, mafia born, knows this. Being the head of CEDEF and first handedly witnessing the doom of the ignorant, he knows very well of the race of the darkness. But, being an outside advisor from the largest mafia in the world, the Vongola, he knows that once people know of the darkness they cannot fully regain their auto-light, the innocence that they were born with. It was as if defiling a precious flower in the deepest part of hell - sometimes a fellow member if the dark needs to hold onto something to keep them into the light.

When Iemitsu looks into her eyes, he can't help but ignore everything he had ever learnt and everything he knows. He cannot - it isn't a "won't" but a physical "cant" - deflower her. She was born into the blinding light, a total opposite of himself; like he was born into the deepest parts of hell, she was born into the deepest parts of heaven. He knows this, yet still, he cannot pull himself away. No matter how many times he pulls her she just can't enter his world. So he gave up.

His lover will never reach the darkness nor will she be with him.

The sun's reflection shines from outside his window, waking him up from his slumber. Turning to the side, he is unable to avoid the light, much to his annoyance. Feeling like there is nothing to be done and that he should probably be awake by now, he opens his eyes and slowly sits up. The thin blanket that covered him rolled off, showing his bare chest - there were scars of all kinds, almost ruining the sight of his muscles. Almost.

Getting off the bed he headed to the bathroom paying no heed to the woman laying peacefully in his bed; he didn't care. Turning on the shower, he hopped in. About ten minutes later, he was in his usual attire: a black suit. There were no flaws; his tie was perfect, his suit free if any unnecessary little hairs or fuzz balls, and there weren't any creases or wrinkles in his clothes. Overall, he looked like the perfect business man. Or perfect mafia man.

The doorbell rang. Just once the bell rang, not enough to disturb the women but enough to get Iemitsu's attention. He made sure his gun was concealed into his suit and the proceeded to walk out of his bedroom and over to the front door. He cautiously looked through the peephole, and, once realizing who it was, opened the door quietly.

"Sorry to intrude," An old man, about fifty or so, greeted as he walked into the apartment.

"No, no," Iemitsu cheered, "No problem at all!"

After leading his guest to the living room, they sat down on the couches facing opposite of each other.

"Would you like a cup of coffee or tea?" The host said with a grin pasted on his face.

"No, no thank you. I come with a message that would make it distasteful."

Iemitsu narrowed his eyes but still kept that silly grin on his face. "Oh, and would you be as kind enough to enlighten me? It must be important, so important that the leader of the Vongola came to personally say."

"It's about the women - what's her name? Nene?"

"Nana." He quietly correctly, a hint of softness leaving his mouth. Just saying that name made him get butterflies in his stomach as if he was an adolescent again. That feeling, no matter how grand, made him remember what he is not.

"Yes, Nans. Her. It seems that I get a lot of reports lately about complaints about her, that lover of yours. You've been bringing her into our official buildings, to places outsiders shouldn't normally go, especially if they're not self aware."

"... She's harmless," he reasoned.

Especially if they're harmless." He said sternly, leaning over the couch to get closer to his advisor. "She could be easily strayed."

Iemitsu furrowed his brows, knowing all to well about the topic. He'd been meaning to let go for a while, but whenever he looks into her eyes he sees something that can't be tossed away, something that he just can't ignore. In his career, they call this an addiction. Yes, he was addicted to the woman, almost going into an overdose. His boss, his friend, was here to help him with, as rare as it was, an honest truth with no ill intentions - maybe for the woman, whom he never met, but not for him.

"... I understand."

They went into a further depth in their conversation and, about forty minutes in, they heard a blood curling scream. Immediately Iemitsu got up and, jumping over bits if furniture, he managed to get near the source. In his bathroom, the one in his master bedroom, there was the subjected woman on her knees crying. Tears fell down on her face as this grin was plastered on her face.

A strange mixture, he thought.

A minute or so after Iemitsu got there, his friend arrived there. When he did, he immediately narrowed his eyes. It wasn't that he hated Nana, but it was more of a distrust. He didn't know how she'll react when she is defiled and, for the safety of his advisor, he didn't want to risk knowing it. Being the gentleman he was, he took a step out of the bathroom, leaving the two love birds with hopefully their last moments together.

"Nana, what's wrong?!" Iemitsu fretted.

"Honey..." She turned her head to him, not noticing the other man leaving, and then put on the brightest smile she could ever muster up. Which, just to say, almost left the advisor blind. "I'm pregnant..."

The two men, hearing this, gaped. This was unbelievable, very unbelievable! One of the whole reasons why Iemitsu had forest started to have those one night stands with her that somehow ended up in them dating was because she was unable to become pregnant. It was physically impossible for her to get pragmatic; the young women had no, literally no, eggs in her to be fertilized.

"Are you positive?!" Iemitsu asked, bewildered. "I thought that you couldn't get children?!"

"Me too... But lately," she admitted, smiling and looking into the distance, "I've been getting these eerie dreams. Strangest kinds of dreams, I say."

The mafia boss, hearing all of this, sighed and went back to the living room - he knew that Iemitsu knew what to do.

"I see... Do you remember them?"

Shaking her head, she answered, "No. But I have a feeling that they were trying to tell me this! After I took the pregnancy test, I knew that they were!" She said it so cheerfully as she clutched the said test.

His eyes became dull. His smile never strayed, though. "Sweetheart, this is so wonderful." He grabbed her, picking her up in princess style - her test falling down on the ground - and them headed out to where his friend, no boss, waited.

This changed everything.

He was bringing her into the darkness. It wasn't a matter of being able to or not, big more like fate deciding to hurt the woman he loved the most, more so than his own mother.

"Oh dear, we had a guest?!" She exclaimed as they entered the living room. "Honey, put me - "

He gently lowered her, allowing her legs to be freed first. She happily obliged and was going to give all if her attention to the guest but before she was able to her lover spoke.

"This here is my boss, sweetheart, and this is a very important matter. Please allow him to feel your stomach." He closed his eyes, clearly stressed yet still hanging a smile from his lips.

Nodding, she accepts, not thinking about it too much.

Nono, the ninth, the current leader if the Vongola Familiglia, reqched out his hand to touch her stomach. When he was less than a centimeter away, a bright fire appeared, the origin her stomach, shot at the guest. Iemitsu quickly got out his gun, ready to shoot his lover, but then his boss screamed, "Don't you dare!"

Nono managed to get his flame around himself, protecting him of the wrath if the flames. They, the flames, were clearly on some sort if anger. They beamed with the purest of orange, but yet they held the true terror of torture by flames. They were protective and fierce as if they were as bear protecting it's young from a predator. The flames soon engulfed the entire apartment and, in a miracle, the flames never touched the two lovers. It seemed as if it were going straightforward to the older man establishing him as the enemy.

By whom, they wonder? By the child, of course.

Without another thought, Iemitsu grabbed his lover and fled the apartment. Now on the street along with Nono, they could see that most of the entire three story building was on fire. Though, the flame that once appeared on the woman was gone; it seemed clear that the origin of the flame realized that it could have murdered the woman.

"Let us go to my office. Ms. -"

"Nana is fine..." She said almost breathlessly. It seemed that she was beginning to lose her stamina.

"Nana, then, please join us." Before he finished talking men in similar outfits as Iemitsu appeared, clearly I'm distress.

"Sir, are you alright?!"

"Sir, what happened?!"

They flocked Nono, showing their birdie instincts. Nono, being who he was, calmed them, reassuring that it was necessary. Then he led them away, bring Nana and Iemitsu along.

As they sat down in the moving limo, Iemitsu clef his eyes, holding onto his lover's hands. She, of course, was fat asleep.

"This changes everything." He muttered.

"Unfortunately, it does." Nono added solemnly. "Who would have thought tha she was a carrier?"

"Let's just be glad that we didn't drive her out before this. We could have created another..."

"Hush. I know that isn't how you feel. Be honest with an old friend."

Iemitsu's grip on his lover increased. "I might loose her in the darkness."

"... If she's as bright as you make her out to be, then she will never be lost."

"Maybe not lost, but surely broken."

"A broken toy doesn't fit?"

Iemitsu laughed gently at the inside joke. "Not anymore, my friend. Not anymore."

With a quiet voice, he added, "So it's bad."

Nono turned his head to look him straight in the eyes, with his truthful, wishful eyes. "Enough to make him the next heir of the family."

Iemitsu wanted to throw up. Better yet, punch someone. Yeah, punching someone seemed more practical. He was, after all, infamous for his punches; they had great form, aim and power.

"I think I'm going to dig deeper into the depths of hell," Iemitsu sighed, letting go of his lover's hands. "A mere - "

"She is more than that, my friend. Worth all the money in the world." Nono said, expressing his new opinion of her. "Sadly, though, it won't be enough to save her. That child carries a flame and not just any ordinary flame... It's the sky flame."

"That in itself - her carrying a flame child - is enough to not abort the baby." Because it's illegal.

"You are correct."

"This is why I should have never been involved with - "

"No, no. You've done good. Too good, I fact, that my sons will even be pleased."

"... I'm sorry..." Iemitsu hid his head. Nono looked alarmed. "I still can't bring her into the darkness... Even if she dies, I cannot allow what she brought to life to be born into the darkest parts of hell..."

Nono felt it in his gut that he wouldn't be able to change his mind, even if he were to place a gun to his head. So, like any reasonable man, he agreed. "Not born, but brought. How intriguing for the next leader of the next generation. Very well."

Iemitsu grinned. "I heard it's nice in Japan. Nana always said how she wanted to live there someday."

"It does seem like a nice place. I'll see to your departures after everything is settled."

They then began to discuss family business - missions, money, people - for the next couple hours. When they spoke, it seemed to be slowly turning less formal; they were becoming more and more friendly, more open because of the tension slowly died out. Iemitsu's lover was fast asleep and seemed so peaceful, calming the worried man. Nono, of course, noted that.

"There will be recruits coming in the day after tomorrow," Nono said causally.

"I'll be sure to te-"

"You'll be sure to take care of your fiancé, Iemitsu."

Iemitsu looked at his boss in disbelief, not expecting what he said, and then stated, "You told me to get rid of her."

"Now that there is proof that she is a carrier, she will never be left alone. It will be your job to protect her and the child. That is your top priority."

"Yes, sir."

"My, my, I remember when my wife was first pregnant. Never thought she was a carrier; if she wasn't than I would have been married off sooner or later."

"She was strong."

"Very. It's a shame, though, that my sons don't want to marry."

"They're still young. They got some time."

"They do, they do."

Iemitsu chuckled. "I can only imagine what kind of wife Xanxus would have; she'll have to be a keeper!"

"Yes, she would. As he is now, he'll never have one. Such a shame."

"Yeah. He's already strong; he could definitely make the next generation stronger."

Nono thought about that for a few minutes and, just when Iemitsu thought the conversation was over, the Ninth asked, "If you don't mind, and if your child is a girl, would you allow her to marry my son?"

"Xanxus?"

"Yes." He said, looking straight in his advisor's eyes.

Iemitsu thought about it and, for the final push, the Ninth said, "He already wants the title as the Tenth, but he is unfit. When my wife had him, she had to use the remainder of her energy to make sure he would be strong. My other sons, though, are slightly stronger - he will never get the title. But, if he were to marry the next heir, then he very well might be appeased."

"A war would be prevented." Iemitsu said, nodding his head. "Yes, I accept."

While he said that, Nana twitched slightly. Iemitsu, too busy with his boss, didn't notice. He did, however, notice when her temperature rose. His arms then wrapped around her small frame, as if to protect her, and then he let out a sigh. It was very exhausting being near his friend. Even though they were close friends and had known each other since he was a child, he still felt worn out when he was around him because, in general, Nono had this air to him that just drained Iemitsu out, leaving him to only wanting rest after his encounter with the leader of Vongola.

As time passed on, Iemitsu felt this heat being emitted through his lover, a heat that he wasn't familiar with yet still understood. He sighed once again, closing his eyes. He had only witness carriers through books, never in real life. Even the Ninth's carrier he didn't see - he couldn't handle it. The thought of them going through so much pain just for the future generations, well, just didn't sit well with him.

Carriers are women who do not have a dying will flame but births one. They are unique and very rare so like any other thing of worth, they are hunted down and claimed. But Iemitsu doesn't blame anyone for doing that: they are needed. Without them, nobody would be able to produce a flame, nobody would be able to rise in power, and nobody would have Primo's bloodline.

When a carrier gets impregnated, she births a baby of a flame. It doesn't matter if the male who had intercourse with her has a flame or is a decedent of a flame wielder - the woman will birth a child of a flame. In the rare cases that the male is a flame wielder or that his ancestors are, the baby would be twice as powerful, twice the amount of will. The only reason people don't mate a carrier and a flame wielder on a regular basis is because the carrier usually dies in the process which is a loss of a carrier and a flame wielder. The baby would be so powerful that the child would take the will of the mother, thus murdering her because her will to live was taken.

During the occurrence of a will taken, it is not all about the psychological aspect of it, though this is more common in mist wielders when they defeat an enemy. The process consists of the cells in the body to stop functioning, the heart beat to dramatically slow down, the pupils to dilate, and for the said person to age at an unearthly rate, most likely resulting in certain death. In the case of carriers, they have all of that and more. Because they are holding a life force that is stealing their will of life, that life force usually turns on their carrier on accident. Their will to live is so strong that it forms into a flame that burns the woman from the inside out. That is why it is not normal for a flame wielder to conceive with a carrier; there's just too much to loose.

In some cases, like Nono's, he had to to that in order to carry on the Vongola blood within him. During his time before he had children, there were only two people alive that were flame wielder's of Primo's descent: himself and Iemitsu. Iemitsu at the time was far too young to bare children, so he, by obligation, had to get a carrier. Fortunately for him, he found the ideal carrier whom he fell in love with, one who had a will strong enough to bare four children who were lucky enough to be males.

Male wielders are the most precious because they are the only flame wielders that can pass down the DNA of the flames. In this world, they become the leaders, the leaders that are protected and kept safe.

There are, though, rare cases where a woman becomes precious. As of right now, it wouldn't matter if Iemitsu's unborn child is a male or female - it will surely inherit the throne. Usually female wielders are weaker than male ones and so, since their flames force their eggs to burn up because their lack of strength to stop their flames, they become the second class of the flame users. On rare occasions, though, their carrier would be so strong-willed that their flame would exceed expectations therefore making them on equal terms with the male wielders - minus the fact that they cannot pass on the DNA of the flames; they aren't carriers, they are wielders.

The social structure of flame wielders and carriers are very complex. If a male wielder, you can marry whoever you want. But, if you marry a woman - or if the male marries another male - it is to be expected for them to have a mistress who is a carrier. Male wielders are expected to have at least two children; it doesn't matter if it is from the same carrier or not, but it has to be from a carrier. Besides marriage, men are expected to have an education and experience in fighting, stealth, or something else of that sort that's helpful when being a Mafioso. They have to be gentlemen and diligent. But, like every other "supposed to" there are always those who are not the ideal person; there are exceptions to these, but that is an explanation for another time and place.

The woman wielder is, like almost any other culture, is expected to be an ideal lady. In the mafia, there's a little twist to it: you must know at least a basic in fighting, stealth, seduction, assassination, hacking, or something else that is relevant to the underworld. When concerning about marriage, well, it is mostly politically pushed since they can't pass on the DNA.

Those are just the basics, though. A lot changes the higher one's will is: the stronger it is, the stronger the flame, the more responsibilities and the more money and power is there. The weaker one is, the more likely they would be found in the slums or used as pawns, both resulting in an early death. Nonetheless, no matter how weak or strong a wielder is, they are tracked, they are kept in record, always being watched - same with a carrier.

That is why Nono couldn't understand why Iemitsu's lover had a child with such will power; she was not a classified carrier. She shouldn't even have the possibility of having a child; she was infertile. Nana came from an ordinary background, oblivious from the mafia and flames, with no connection whatsoever, so she shouldn't have this baby. But, Nono thought as he relaxed in his seat, she is having this baby. And from Iemitsu's statement, the child will grow up normally for the first twenty so years. Then, when the day is ready for him to retire, the child will be shoved into the darkness without proper training.

God, he never thought his advisor was so fucking wrong before in all the years he'd known him.

Iemitsu sat down with his elbows on his knees and head resting down on his hands. Shaking, he was holding back everything he had not to blow up. Heat radiated out of him and, with his consent, he could blow up the whole place. Forget morals and responsibility, he'd do it! - if his wife and child wasn't in the immediate area.

Right when they pulled up in Nono's mansion, his wife was taken away from him. At that time, she had a high fever - her insides were beginning to burn. He didn't know how she would survive; she's weak, not meant for the darkness he had soiled himself in, nor was she taught on how to handle herself when this occurrence happens. He sighed - how the hell was she supposed to survive through this?!

It's been six hours since then. The Ninth only stayed for the first two hours until he got dragged away for official business, and so Iemitsu has been there sitting in the waiting room ever so patiently, waiting for his lover to go through the normal procedures. He knows that from now on, he is going to have to deal with this more often than not; he knows the chances are that she's going to face death on a regular basis...

Death. Iemitsu stopped shaking and sat up somewhat straight so he could have a better chance of seeing his hands. He was so close on giving her up to death, so close, until she saved herself - did she even know that she saved herself? He sure as hell hoped not because, from the looks of it, she is more than just a couple weeks pregnant which is most definitely peculiar; she showed no signs beforehand. If she knew, if she had knowledge, then... She would have already been bathed in darkness.

Iemitsu doesn't particularly enjoy the darkness, nor does he harbor any extreme emotions to it. But the light - the part if the world that didn't murder, destroy, hunt - was enchanting; he was memorized by the sight of it, so memorized that he couldn't help himself for reaching out for it. And, every time he did, he would become obsessed. Through time, he would later become bored; he was in the mafia so therefore he was used to constant adventure and change, so when those ordinary women didn't amuse him anymore, he would let them go like the break of wind.

Nana was different. He didn't know why, didn't know how, but she was always intriguing to him. She was, in fact, a beautiful soul, so pure and kind, exactly what he wasn't. Very soon after their first one night stand, he fell in this obsessive behavior that didn't allow him to let her leave hi sight for no reason whatsoever; she didn't mind, she never did.

When he was asked to kill her his motto popped up in his head: familiga comes first, then family, then oneself. Why would he kill her? For his familiga. Why would he want to keep her alive? Was it this an act of chivalry? Or was this solely for her well-being? Neither; it was for himself. So, it was only natural for him to hold back his own urges for the Ninth and do the job that he was ordered to do, just like any other order he was given by Nono.

He was so ecstatic when he didn't have to kill her - it was a waste to do so. It was even more exciting for him when the Ninth called her his fiancé, something Iemitsu, deep down, had wanted for a long time. Now, he was finally free of the woman whom was paired with him by his parents - Nono's brother and his wife. But, that is to be offered explanation for another time and place, not now, not yet.

Iemitsu was happy, yet still, there was this urging fear crawling inside of him that was dooming his future: would she make it? This time, he had no control over her life - or more specifically, her death.

Three hours and thirty-six minutes later, an assistance walked up to him. She had a clipboard held tightly in her hands with a suspicious grin, seeming too happy - it was never good when a mafioso was happy; it usually meant that some sort o death had occurred.

"Chief? I've got the reports for you." Once she handed them to him, he immediately skimmed through them. Once he was done skimming, he looked at her like what-the-hell-does-this-crap-mean?

"She is very much fine, sir, too fine in fact."

He raised his eyebrow as she continued on with her report.

"She no longer has a fever, and her body seemed to heal itself rather nicely; there are no permanent damage to her internal or external body. Fifteen minutes after she came in, all symptoms of her being a carrier or having a baby vanished."

His heart sank. "Which means?"

"She will be sent to, erm, more professional hands." Her happy mood began slipping away as Iemitsu glared at her and started to twitch.

"Who's hands?" He growled.

"...Doctor Verde."

As soon as she said that name, she fell on the floor, holding her throat. She tried her best to scream, but was unable to. Foam began to come out of her mouth as her hazel eyes went in the back if her head. Her body then went limp.

Flame wielders are very unique, and Iemitsu's flame is even more so because of his attribute - the sky, one of the rarest of all. When speaking scientifically, fire is a gas but it's more of a heat or "light" source. What Iemitsu did was very common for fame wielders, though not common for those who have sky flames.

He let his anger seethe through into the form of an unseen and no smell gas for eight hours straight in the same spot. Anybody who breathes within a twenty foot radius of him would be at his mercy. And, as of now, this woman was at his mercy.

Standing up, he began to speak. "Normally the chivalrous part of me wouldn't want to hurt a woman in this way, but as of right now it is very much necessary. You hour be familiar to his trick by now: my flame is inside of you and, at my will, I can burn your lungs. Make you breathe fire, then turn you into a crisp."

Slowly, she held out her wrist, turning it to show her tattoo - her entire worth.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You don't need a throat to fuck." He let out a sigh and then made his flame mellow. "Tell me why she is going to him."

She choked a cry, "Because we don't have advanced technology like he does - plus, his intelligence could crack -"

Hearing enough, he went on his next question. "Where is she now?"

"Room 2772!"

He then left the waiting room, clearly pissed. Who could blame him? His soon to be wife was sent to a lunatic that was worse than the Esterno when it came to "experimenting" on things, especially if they were interesting. _Wait,_ he thought blindly, _is she even interesting enough to attract his attention? _

Harsh, but that is what he wanted to believe. Because, if then, she would be safe from the hands of many and right now was a time where that would be useful. Iemitsu never had an ill past with the doctor but he wasn't stupid: he heard them, heard the people speak. They always told high-fetched tales of the doctor's life; the stories were always full of dread and loss, something that he couldn't afford. In this world that he lives in, he cannot afford anything.

He doesn't want her to meet that man – he was a scientist before he was a doctor, valued knowledge over humanity, something that should never be overlooked.

There are a lot of occurrences in this world that are always overlooked, that are always brushed away with an uncanny shrug and dark eyes, eyes that have seen the depth of the light and became blind from it, straying from the path that they should be on.

"Sir, you can't come this way!"

"Hey – "

_Slam. Break. Fall. Bend. _

_Sing of the tragedies that no one can mend…. _

_Try to fix the hopeless lie—_

_You will fall into the webs of time. _

The young lion was coming out of his den to realize something he already had: he cannot prevent her corruption.


End file.
